The OpenSourceLegal.org website ("Website") provides information regarding open source software and related legal issues for the convenience of interested users. This "Terms of Use and Privacy Statement" (referred to below as the "Terms of Use") has been written to describe the conditions under which this Website is being made available to you. The Terms of Use discuss important limitations about the way you may use materials you find on the Website. Read these Terms of Use carefully. By using this Website, you will be deemed to have accepted them. If you do not accept the Terms of Use, you are directed to discontinue accessing or otherwise using the Website or any materials obtained from it.

The Website does not provide legal advice, and materials on it are provided "as-is"

Information on the Website is being provided by Gesmer Updegrove LLP (the "Firm") for informational purposes only; it is not intended to provide any legal advice. In addition, the materials are provided "as is," and the Form does not represent that they are complete, up-to-date, error-free, or applicable to your situation. For example, an article published on the Website may not cover all aspects of a given topic, may not reflect recent developments in the law, or may otherwise fail to give an accurate picture of how the law relates to your particular circumstance. Therefore, you should not rely on any of the materials in the Website when making decisions with legal implications. Before making such decisions, you should consult with a qualified legal professional, who can provide advice tailored to your individual situation.

Advertising disclaimer

The materials on this Website may constitute advertising under various state ethics rules.

You are not entering into an attorney-client relationship by using the Website

Your use of the Website does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the Firm or any of its attorneys. If you wish to engage the Firm, or if you have legal questions, please contact the Firm directly and ask to be directed to one of the Firm's attorneys. You may reach the Firm at:

Gesmer Updegrove LLP
40 Broad Street
Boston, MA 02109
Telephone: 617.350.6800
Facsimile: 617.350.6878
Email: info@gesmer.com

The Firm is not responsible for third-party websites

This Website includes links to third-party websites ("Third Party Links") for the convenience of our users. The Firm is not endorsing those third-party sites and does not intend to imply any association between the Firm and the party or parties running those sites. In addition, the Firm does not control these third-party websites and cannot represent that their policies and practices will be consistent with these Terms of Use. For example, other websites may collect or use personal information about you in a manner different from that described in this document. Finally, materials available through Third Party Links may be protected from unauthorized copying and dissemination by U.S. Copyright law, trademark law, international conventions, and other intellectual property laws and the usage of such materials may be subject to limitations which are more or less restrictive than those expressed herein. Therefore, you should use other websites with caution, and you do so at your own risk.

This Website uses cookies for internal purposes related to its operation

This Website uses small files called "cookies" to track information useful in the operation of the Website. Specifically, the Website uses cookies to gather data regarding Website usage, such as the number of users who have visited individual Website pages. While your numeric "IP address" is available to these cookies, the cookies have no way of associating any data collected with your name, email address, or information that identifies you personally. No cookie used by the Website collects or distributes personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

The Firm limits access to personal information you may submit to the Website

While the Website does not gather your name, email address or similar information about you without your knowledge or consent, the Website does permit you to voluntarily submit data about yourself.

Specifically, you may submit your contact information in order to receive periodic mailings regarding the information on the Website. At your request, the Firm will remove your subscription information from our files. To do so, either respond to the "unsubscribe" link in a OpenSourceLegal.org mailing, or email your request to the Firm directly at webmaster@gesmer.com.

The Firm makes every effort to protect personal information submitted by users of the Website, including using firewalls and other security measures on its servers. However, no server is 100% secure, and you should take this into account when submitting personal or confidential data about yourself on any website, including this Website.

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which went into effect in April 2000, requires operators of certain web sites to do several things before collecting information from children under the age of 13. The Firm does not provide services to individuals under thirteen years of age and does not intend to collect any private information from such individuals.

You can use materials authored by us which you find on this Website, with certain restrictions

There are two types of materials which are accessible through this site: materials hosted at this site, and materials which you view as a result of following the links which exist at this site. The rules are different for each type of material, as follows:

Information hosted at Linked Sites. We do not have the right to grant you permission of any kind with respect to materials found at linked sites. All materials found at such sites can be assumed to be protected from unauthorized copying and dissemination by U.S. Copyright law, trademark law, international conventions, and other intellectual property laws, unless clearly indicated to the contrary. Any rights which you may have to make any use of materials found at linked sites, other than viewing the material through your web browser, will be only as provided at the linked site.

Information hosted at the Website. This Website and all materials owned by, or licensed to the Firm are also protected from unauthorized copying and dissemination by U.S. Copyright law, trademark law, international conventions, and other intellectual property laws. Subject to your full compliance with these Terms of Use and any applicable further restrictions contained in the materials in question, however, you are allowed to view, copy and print the materials hosted at this Website for your own personal, legal, non-commercial use, as long as you retain any copyright, trademark and other similar notices on the materials and do not modify them in any way.

These Terms of Use may be modified by the Firm

The process of maintaining a website is an evolving one, and the Firm may decide at some point in the future to modify these Terms of Use. Your use of the Website, or materials obtained from the Website, indicates your assent to the Term of Use effective at the time of such use. The effective Terms of Use will be posted on the Website, and therefore you should check it regularly for any changes.

These terms were last modified on January 7, 2004 to address the treatment of email addresses collected for subscriptions, which commenced on that date.